Her Story
by honhoi
Summary: And as she progressed further down her path of assurance, she could not help but feel just a tad bit disappointed. She told herself that what she was doing was right, but Kami knows that she was wrong. And it only takes a silent reassurance of her non-belief in a higher order to prove her point. Left, she tells herself again. Adventure could wait another day. *Revised Story*
1. Chapter 1

.Revised.

_Begin_

0.000001

"Sakura, you're going to be late!" Viridian eyes opened in shock.

"Ai yah, you're right!"

An inexcusably tardy schoolgirl shot up from her bed and darted into her closet. She'd slept in on the first day of school!

Grabbing her school uniform, Sakura sprinted downstairs, grabbed toast from her mother, and shot out the door all the way to school.

"Hey Sakura!" Her classmates called to her, but she couldn't talk! She had less than thirty seconds to get to the third floor of her high school where her first class was!

Bursting through the door, she proclaimed, "Sensei! I'm here!"

"Good, now go take a seat." Sakura walked toward her desk.

_Pause._

All of what has just transpired would be real, if the main character in question lived a life such as one that had been implied by those previous few lines.

In actuality, the main character does not lead a life free of miserable occurrence. Rather, the character in question, from day one, has led a life of unintended tribulation. Since a young age, Sakura has seen more than what a normal functioning human being would see in a life time, and as a result of such she has developed qualities that betray her outward appearances. She is not entirely dreary; her raging temper betrays her and her genuine love for friends and those close to her is insurmountable. Those around her find her a force to be reckoned with—good natured, even if she is sometimes insufferable.

She often entertains the thought of, perhaps in a past life that her profession was dealing with fatalities both in and out of a combat zone. That those she wished to empower fell around her like flies until she was the only one left. That her entire being was dedicated to preserving the power and the integrity of a central body, which in turn supported her until the day she perished.

Whatever the case, she was not one to idle in the musings of religion; however thought-provoking reincarnation may be.

She knew not of her parents, for they perished before she could even walk. She lives on her own in a flat paid for by nothing more than her own flesh and blood—and when I state such, I don't _really_ mean that the flat was paid for by her own flesh and blood, but rather, a job which she holds helps to pay her living expenses, as well as other accommodations that she may need. She never lived outside of her means; always first withdrawing a considerable amount of money to deposit into a savings account before spending the rest. With her meticulous and orderly attitude, her living space remained spotless. She was rarely home, having to split time between school, study, and work. Even with such an unfortunate combination, our young madam has managed to rank in the top percent of her graduating class with a hopeful eye towards medicine.

And as our pink-haired heroine rouses to wakefulness, and goes about preparing for the day, she hopes that today will be unlike those previous. She wishes—even though she knows better than to do such a thing—that today will not be filled with remorse, but something else so much, _much_ more exciting will happen that she will remember for a lifetime. And as she glances one last time at the burning incense of the shrine in her flat, she secures the lock of her flat door and passes her landlady by on her way to school. She reminisces.

About the life she could have lead, but never will.

Sakura steps out onto the pavement in front of the building of her apartment.

Left, or right?

Left, school. School future. Future, money. Money, life.

Right? Right took her through to an unknown, unmarked territory.

She held her breath. Gray skirt billowing in the harsh wind, her sights on the right route lingered.

Left. Left today, she tells herself. Adventure can wait another day.

The safety of order ensured her. There was always a clear path. She always knew what to expect.

Yes, she told herself, this was the right decision.

And so, she proceeded to her destination on the left.

And as she progressed further down her path of assurance, she could not help but feel just a tad bit disappointed. She assured herself that what she was doing was right, but _Kami _knows that she is wrong.

And it only takes a silent reassurance of her non-belief in a higher order to prove her point.

And it only took three figures cloaked in black; _flashing _past her to prove her wrong.

She looked behind her into the street of unmarked territory.

Left, she tells herself again. So she musters all of her willpower and briskly walked forward to her secondary school. After all, she knew what would happen if she did not arrive on time.

For she knew not of any other consequences that would occur if she followed those figures than death. And she cannot die. Not today.

_Left, _she says to herself more aggressively.

Adventure could wait another day.

* * *

><p>This is a revised, thrown out, and redone version of Chapter one of 'Her Story'.<p>

I've been re-reading the story and I can't help but feel unsatisfied with what I have produced. So I have decided to start over. I am also thinking of changing the title of this work as well.

I appreciate reviews/feedback on this story as well. Sorry that I have been gone for so long.

On another note; this chapter will not flow with the rest of the story. Just a heads up as I trash and re-do the others.


	2. 013 Why Hello, Stranger

01.3

Why Hello,

_Stranger_

. . . .

01.3

the rain

* * *

><p>Sakura sat at her desk after the bell had rung, silently waiting for her bustling class to file out of the room. She was staring outside of the window, watching as the rain beat down mercilessly upon the more or less innocent bystanders that loitered outside of the high school. Then she refocused her eyes to look at her own reflection. Tired, pained emerald orbs stared back at her with a solemn expression. Her soft, baby pink hair clung to her head, and some straight strands of hair floated about her head with every slight movement of her body.<p>

The ordeal with Sasuke had left her feeling exhausted, a little depressed even. Looking down at the bystanders one last time, she caught a crowd of people congregated around three people; Sasuke, Karin, and an orange-haired kid. It seemed as if Sasuke and the orange-haired boy were arguing, but for what reason she didn't know.

Solemnly, Sakura collected her things into her bag and silently walked passed a pair of students who were arguing over whose boyfriend belonged to who.

"I saw him first! He said _my _name and said he _loved _me!" A brunette-haired girl screamed.

"Dream on, fish face! He _kissed _me and grabbed _my _butt! What could he ever like in a plain girl like you anyways?" Another brown-haired girl screamed. She threw the first punch at the other brunette-haired girl, missed, and accidentally punched Sakura in her back. Sakura, in turn, tripped forward and fell to the ground, grabbing a desk to somehow catch her fall only to have it fall on top of her person.

The girls immediately stopped their quarreling and scrambled out of the classroom out of embarrassment. "Poor Haruno-san, she must be really embarrassed after Sasuke-kun broke up with her, and for her to just fall like that…" The brunette said. The other could only nod in response.

Sakura lay on the floor in pain before getting up to place the desk in its place. She looked to the window one last time before starting her trek to the top balcony of the school. It was probably one of the few places she felt so free, so _alive_. She walked in the hallways avoiding the stares her peers gave her, and only looked ahead. "Look at her hair…." One student said. "I knew Sasuke-kun would have gotten bored of her anyways; I mean, who dies their hair _pink?_" Another student sneered. Sakura paused, and gave a weak glare over her shoulder to whoever made the snide remark and continued to walk towards the top floor.

Silently, she ascended the staircase to the fourth floor door. Gently, she twisted the door knob and threw the door open, allowing the cold, windy wet air hit her face. She felt exhilarated, and found a calming element in weather like this. She glanced to her left and saw a pair of girls huddled near the edge of the roof. They were Karin's minions.

"Well, if it isn't the pink-haired retard. What, bummed out that Sasuke is too good for you?" A platinum-haired girl asked.

"Actually, I'm quite a bit more than I would have anticipated. Thanks for asking, Ino. I really appreciate it." She gave Ino the slightest of smiles. Closing the door, Sakura walked over to a ledge near Ino and her friend. It was wet, but she didn't mind.

"Lovely weather we're having ne, Ino-chan?" Sakura was making light of the situation which was really getting on Ino's nerves.

"Hardly, freak. It's this time of year that your namesake is tragically washed out from everywhere! Rain, rain, come out to destroy the frail ugly blossom!" By now Ino had appeared behind Sakura, and before Sakura could come to realize the situation she was in, Ino had already given a hard shove to her back.

* * *

><p>It felt like the world had slowed down for a moment, I turned my head to look into Ino's eyes and all I could see was hatred and malice.<p>

_Since when did Ino harbor all those sad, tortured emotions towards me?_

"So it's like that, isn't it, Ino-chan?" I smiled at her silently and her eyes for a moment seemed to hold regret, and she desperately tried to reach out and save me from my imminent death, but it was too late. I was falling, and falling _fast_.

* * *

><p>"Who do you think you are, huh? I came here to do something so outta my way!" An orange-haired boy was fighting to move passed this crowd and a boy who seemed to be donning a duck-ass hair style. This red-haired chick looked like she was checking him out, but he couldn't be too sure.<p>

While fighting to get passed duck-butt, red-head, and this crowd of people, he felt someone's reiatsu fluctuate. He looked to his right and saw a girl falling head-first, and fast. He glanced up at the top to see a blonde retreating pony-tail and another girl who he did not know. His attention switched back to the falling pink-haired girl who was nearing the ground every second that he wasted. He felt around his person for anything, but no such luck.

"Didn't you hear me? I asked what your name was!" Duck-butt asked impatiently. The orange-haired boy, not listening to what he had to say, fought through the crowd to run to get to the falling girl. He ran, and ran, and boy did he run. And just as the girl was nearing the ground, he tackle saved her in the air and turned so his back would take the hit against the wall.

"Ow…That really hurt." The orange-haired kid said. He sat up and glanced down at the wet pink-haired bundle in his arms. Come to think of it, he was wet too considering that they both just fell into a puddle. He sat there for a while until he saw a blonde-haired kid run over to them. "Sakura? Sakura-chan!" He yelled.

"Sakura? Her name is Sakura?" The orange-haired kid asked.

"Yeah! What just happened? Did she really just…"

"Yeah, she really just physically fell from the top of the building. I saw a girl with a blonde pony-tail turning to leave along with her friend. I think she pushed her off, and I don't know if she's still there or not, but it wouldn't hurt to check." The orange-haired kid said.

"Damn it…Ino….." The blonde haired kid cursed under his breath.

"I'm sorry. The name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto held out his hand.

"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo shook his hand. Slowly, but carefully Ichigo stood up with Sakura still in his arms. He looked at Naruto briefly and saw him looking down at her with sad eyes. "Sakura-chan..." He whispered. Ichigo gently pushed Sakura into Naruto's arms, and Naruto took care to saddle her onto his person, piggyback style.

Ichigo coughed. "My family has a clinic on the way, maybe we could….?"

Naruto turned to him, his eyes shone with relief. "Kurosaki clinic, right? I've been by there before with teme and some other friends."

"Teme?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yeah. The duck-butt over there." He motioned to the duck-butt from Ichigo's earlier encounter with his nose. "His name is Sasuke, but I call him teme because he is a bastard. He, Sakura-chan, and I used to be close friends." Naruto sighed.

This made Ichigo curious. "What happened?" He asked.

"Well…." Naruto looked down and away from Ichigo's face out of sadness.

Ichigo, getting the hint said "It's okay! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Sorry."

Naruto chuckled at this. "It's alright, 'ttebayo!" He smiled brightly at Ichigo then faltered a bit. "But what I do know is that, whatever is happening between us is taking a large toll on Sakura…"

"Come again?" Ichigo asked, not paying attention.

"I said, shall we head towards your family clinic or what? It's getting colder and windier out here, wouldn't like to catch a cold." He said while readjusting Sakura on his back. The rain had stopped, and the sun was peeking out through the clouds a little bit, but there was no doubt that there would be more rain to come later in the day too.

"Oh, ah sorry about that. Right this way." Ichigo led Naruto out of the school grounds, towards the Kurosaki Family Clinic.

Watching their backs was a very peeved Sasuke, and a fuming red Karin.

"That pink-headed wench!" She seethed. "I was so sure that Ino had taken care of her!" She silently screamed. Karin pulled out her phone and started texting her friends furiously. Sasuke, however, was biting his thumb at today's whole ordeal.

_Why do I care so much? After all, Sakura is just some girl. _He thought.

* * *

><p>Well, I struggled, and I struggled, and I kept struggling till I got this in.<p>

Jeeze this one was a doooosy. Talk about writer's block? I had it big time.

Tankyu for being patient with me.

Here you go c:

**Note: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH, IT'S CHARACTERS, AFFILIATES, OR NARUTO, AND IT'S CHARACTERS, OR IT'S AFFILIATES. ALL CREDITS FOR CHARACTERS, COMPANIES, AFFILIATES, ETC. GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. Respectively. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT. LOL.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Next:<strong>_

_0.135_

_Ku ro sa ki_

_Clinic_

"_Onee-chan….Onee-chan…..How could you leave me alone like that?" _

"_Ai-chan! No I didn't mean to…I had to….Ai-chan? Ai-chan!"_

"_Onee-chan…onee-cha-" Little Ai was slaughtered right before Sakura's eyes._

"_AI-CHAN! NO! Why….why..." Sakura was sobbing, fisting the grass with all the strength she could muster._

"_Sakura-chan!" Sakura looked up again, and before her very eyes was the nightmare that replayed itself, over and over, even on the anniversary of their deaths. _

"_M-ma? D-dad….?" She slowly reached out to them._

_SLASH!_

_They were beheaded by an ugly monster. Blood spattered on her person and she found that her parent's heads had rolled their way in front of her._

"_Sakuraaaa…" they moaned, "Why didn't you saaaave us Sakura…..Whyy?" Their moans increased with every word until it reached a high pitched scream. Sakura clutched her head with her hands._

"_I…no…please…please!...NO!" A panting, sweating Sakura sat up in a gurney inside an unfamiliar room. Looking around nervously, she saw that her backpack rested next to her on the bed. She looked out of a window, and saw that it was nighttime and the rain was coming down hard. _

_Running a clammy, pale hand through her hair, she couldn't help but say,_

"_Déjà vu much?" _

_Then she collapsed back onto the bed, pulled the covers over her person and drifted off to sleep once again, hoping that she didn't have another nightmare._

* * *

><p>Don't for get to <strong>R&amp;R. Critics are welcome.<strong>


	3. 0135 Ku ro sa ki Clinic 014 Ai, oh why?

01.35

. . . .

Ku ro sa ki

Clinic

. . . .

"_Onee-chan….Onee-chan…..How could you leave me alone like that?"_

"_Ai-chan! No I didn't mean to…I had to….Ai-chan? Ai-chan!"_

"_Onee-chan…onee-cha-" Little Ai was slaughtered right before Sakura's eyes._

"_AI-CHAN! NO! Why….why..." Sakura was sobbing, fisting the grass with all the strength she could muster._

"_Sakura-chan!" Sakura looked up again, and before her very eyes was the nightmare that replayed itself, over and over, even on the anniversary of their deaths._

"_M-ma? D-dad….?" She slowly reached out to them._

_SLASH!_

_They were beheaded by an ugly monster. Blood spattered on her person and she found that her parent's heads had rolled their way in front of her._

"_Sakuraaaa…" they moaned, "Why didn't you saaaave us Sakura…..Whyy?" Their moans increased with every word until it reached a high pitched scream. Sakura clutched her head with her hands._

"_I…no…please…please...NO!" _A panting, sweating Sakura sat up in a gurney inside an unfamiliar room. Looking around nervously, she saw that her backpack rested next to her on the bed. She looked out of a window, and saw that it was nighttime and the rain was coming down hard.

Running a clammy, pale hand through her hair, she couldn't help but say,

"Déjà vu much?"

Then she collapsed back onto the bed, pulled the covers over her person and drifted off to sleep once again, hoping that she didn't have another nightmare. Softly, the door across the room clicked open, and Naruto came in and shut it quietly behind him. He proceeded towards Sakura's bed side and stroked her pink bangs out of her closed eyes. She feigned sleep.

He looked out of the window, the only light source of the room being a blinking street lamp in the street, and watched the unrelenting raindrops come down. He sighed. Naruto bent over slowly to kiss Sakura's forehead, and then he stroked it lovingly. Ichigo came into the room moments later and asked whether or not he wanted to stay over or go home.

"I'll..." he glanced at Sakura for a moment before returning to Ichigo, "Yeah, I'll go. Let me know if she wakes up or something, okay?" He left Sakura's bedside to follow Ichigo out of the room and closed a door with a barely audible _click_. Her eyes opened.

01.4

Ai, oh

_why?_

. . . .

01.4

the rain _carousel_

Sakura listened to Naruto and the stranger's retreating voices. Sitting up, and making sure they were out of range of hearing, she threw the covers off of her person and stood up. Her clothes were on the bed next to her backpack, so she took little to no time changing into them and leaving the hospital gown neatly folded on the bed top. She pulled out her iPod and checked the time. _8:45_ it read. She popped in one ear piece into her ear and scrolled down the list to Joe Hisaishi's _Carousel of Life_. Quietly, she walked to the window and watched the rain pour down on the outside, and then glanced at the flickering street lamp. Pulling her hood over her head, she raised the windowsill and jumped out of the window, not bothering to close it behind her. She was looking around, trying to figure out where she was.

"_AHHHHHH!"_ Sakura faltered a bit. She clutched her forehead in one hand and struggled to keep her balance. The screaming commenced again, and it sounded a lot like the little girl she found at the park earlier today.

A lot like _Ai_.

By now the rain was coming down harder, and Sakura was becoming soaked from head to toe. She chose a direction she thought that the screaming was coming from and ran to her. She ran; and ran as fast as her tired legs could take her.

A sign that read 'Karakura Town Park' came into view, and she ran straight into it. Looking around with what little light she had from the lamp posts, she tried to locate the big cylinder that was on its side.

The screaming became louder, and Sakura was running out of time.

She ran forward blindly and tripped over a large piece of cement rubble. Sitting up, she saw that there were more and more cement pieces lying around. The screaming commenced.

Sakura shot up and ran into the forest on the other side of the park, and came to a screeching halt.

There, in the clutches of a big, monstrous beast was Ai, barely hanging on to her life. Sakura dropped to her knees, eyes wide, in a trance-like state staring up hopelessly at the situation in front of her. She was scared, not only for Ai.

But for the fact that this beast, whatever it was, looked _exactly_ like the monstrosity that had destroyed and decapitated her parents.

* * *

><p>After seeing Naruto out, Ichigo walked back to the spare room where Sakura resided. He crooked open the door slowly, only to completely slam it against the wall and pure shock. His sisters were thankfully still asleep.<p>

Ichigo reached into his pocket and speed dialed Naruto's number, listening to the repetitive ringing on the line. He picked up.

"_Naruto speaking, 'ttebayo!" _

"Listen, its Sakura. She's gone." There was a pause from Naruto's side. Then he heard something drop.

"_Wh-what? She was asleep when I checked up on her!" _ Naruto was panicking.

"Calm down. Is there any place she would have visited before that….event happened at Konoha High?"

There was another pause. Naruto fiddled around his pocket before coming across a piece of paper. He pulled it out and read it. '_Meet me at the Karakura Town Park in a bit.' _

"_Is there a park near you?"_ He asked.

"Yeah, Karakura Town Park. Why?" Ichigo questioned.

"_Long story short…we were supposed to meet at that park."_ Naruto responded. "_Hold on…Yes mom? But it's important! It's Sakura, she's in danger! Yes…no mom! Please! This is Sakura we're talking about! 'Ttebayo!" _ Ichigo overheard his conversation with his mother. "_Ichigo, I can't make it tonight, take care of Sakura for me, you hear? 'Ttebayo!" _Naruto dropped.

Ichigo ran his hard, calloused fingers through orange locks. He walked to the open window, and stared at the falling rain. His substitute shinigami badge started to beep. _A hollow, and it's close by too. _He closed the window and ran up to his room, swallowed a konpaku pill, and instructed Kon to stay put and behave. Ichigo opened his bedroom window, climbed out of it, and flash-stepped into the rainy, stormy night.

* * *

><p>Sakura watched helplessly as the monster clenched its hand closer around Ai. Flashbacks of uncompleted gruesome memories flitted through her mind at lightning speed.<p>

"Onee-chan, onee-chan! Help me, help me!" Sakura was snapped back to reality by Ai's helpless and tormented voice. She looked up, only to see a large hand swooping down at her. Sakura closed her eyes and braced for impact.

_**Move!**_It was as if her body moved on autopilot; she regained feeling in her numb, cold wet legs and somersaulted to the side of where she had just been. In place was a huge claw print that was slowly rising to strike down at her again. She had to move, she had to do _something_.

Getting up again, she ran behind one of the many trees and searched around for the biggest tree with many leaves and branches that could hide her form temporarily. Finding one quickly, she climbed up its trunk and continued to climb all the way to the top, where she could see clear above its head and the rest of the forest.

"**Come out, come out where ever you are, my dear little pink freak!**" It bellowed. Ai began screaming again, and Sakura could tell that she could not scream for much longer, so she had to work quickly.

Sakura kneeled down on the branch she was standing on, and began to quietly search for a, strong, sturdy branch that she could easily dismember from the main tree she was residing in. She found one, and gripped it hard at its base and began to pull at it until it snapped. She looked back down again. The monstrosity was stomping around, trying to find her. She looked back at the tree again and pulled out another branch, pulled her arm back, and threw it a good measure in front of the beast. Sensing the falling object, the beast turned its head towards the branch and crushed the thing into pieces.

_**It's either now or never, Sakura.**_ She paused, and then looked around. "_Who's there?" _she quietly whispered. Slowly, she scanned the scenery around her, nothing but rain-soaked leaves and branches. She stood up again and back into the tree as far as she could, then clutching the branch with both hands, she ran forward and jumped into the air.

The monstrosity hadn't realized how fast she was falling towards it, before she unconsciously flexed her reiatsu. Tree branch above her head, she swung it down, only to see a katana in its place. She hit the white mask-like head, but only barely made a scratch. She jumped back a few feet, and stared at the katana in her hand with amazement. Sakura gripped the katana with a renewed resolve and ran towards the monster in at break-neck speed.

Another claw came down towards her and she slashed it off. She jumped onto the monster's body and ran ninja-style onto the outstretched arm that held Ai captive. The monster was becoming very unstable, and so it kept tripping back and forth in pain. Sakura, in turn, was also having a hard time keeping her balance. Once at the supposed wrist, she jammed her katana down and kept jamming and stabbing it until it let go of Ai. She grabbed Ai and they both hurdled to the ground. Sakura twisted her body around to lessen the impact.

Once upon the ground, Sakura ran as hard as she could with Ai in her arms. Not once did she look back. She ran and ran and _ran_, and kept running until she bumped into something solid. She fell backwards on her butt, and Ai was asleep in her lap.

"Oi, watch where you're...Sakura? What are you doing all the way out here?" She looked up to a tall, muscular figure with orange hair who apparently knew her name. "Naruto's been worried sick about you! Geeze, and there's a hollow nearby?" He seemed to be talking to himself. Sakura got up slowly and prepared to run but a strong hand on her arm stopped her. "Where do you think you're going? And for that matter, who is it that you're holding?" Ichigo examined her face closely; she seemed to be pissed off, but a little bit of fear was noticeable in her eyes as well. He then looked down to the girl. '_Ai'_ was scribbled messily on the little girl's nametag, but that's not what got him at that moment.

There was a chain on the girl's chest that was encroaching upon itself, and by the looks of it, it seemed as if the final encroachment was almost complete.

There was an unearthly moan that sounded off in the distance, and Ichigo and Sakura both faltered a bit. She struggled to free herself from his grasp, but to no avail. Instead what ended up happening was Ichigo falling forward, desperately trying to hold onto something but ended up clutching Sakura who in turn, dropped Ai (who was thankfully still asleep), and ended up being pinned underneath Ichigo.

"Leave the girl; you don't know what you're getting yourself into." He breathed. His cool breath fanned across her face.

"I refuse to leave an innocent child behind." He suddenly remembered that regular humans were not supposed to see ghosts. "Could it be that you were running from…?" He questioned. Sakura took the time to look over his person, and found that he was wearing a black shihakusho with a white wrapping around his middle. She glanced to the side, and saw what she thought to be a bigger version of a butcher knife with a white wrapping around the handle.

She looked back up into his eyes, and he looked down into hers. "Green…." He started "…and pink?" he snickered. Sakura scowled and head butted him, and Ichigo shouted in pain. He rolled off of her and clutched his head, shouting curses to her name sake. Sakura rolled over, picked Ai up, and ran away as fast as she could in a random direction.

"Hey! Wait..!" But he was too late, she was already gone. _Tch. I'll get her later._ _Zangetsu, you can find her reiatsu right?_ Zangetsu chuckled at Ichigo. He grunted. Picking up his sword, he headed towards the hollow that would soon be reaping havoc upon the city.

Sakura was still running in the damp and soggy forest. She tripped and landed on her side and grunted out of misery. She stood up with Ai in her arms, and looked down at herself. _Muddy, soggy, wet, in pain…could this day have gotten any worse? _And it had. There was barely any light in the forest, and the only source of light she had was her iPod Touch, provided that it didn't get wet.

Up ahead, she saw a tree with a big enough opening in it and headed towards it. She halted when she felt Ai stirring around in her arms. It was lost to her how a young child could sleep so soundly after everything that just happened. She looked down gently at Ai's face until the small girl opened her eyes. Pure black pits of nothingness replaced what should have been a regular, normal human eye. Sakura dropped the girl and backed away from her. Ai began to smile a wide, haunting smile before she opened her mouth to let out an unearthly scream.

The supposed 'Ai' launched herself at Sakura, and Sakura screamed.

* * *

><p>Ichigo raced towards the place where the supposed hollow was supposed to have been, only realize that the hollow he was fighting was an old, escaped enemy from years ago. The very same hollow <em>bastard<em> who lured him in that caused the untimely death of his mother.

"Grand Fisher." He seethed. The fallen hollow could only laugh in response.

"**My my, what a pleasant surprise, **_**Ichigo**_**. And to think that I've got to meet two beings with high reiatsu! What a pleasant day today is indeed!**" Ichigo could only grip the sword in both of his hands in response.

"**Quiet, now aren't we? Oh but I'm sure that the little girl that was with that pink-haired beauty is sure to get a rise out of her!**" Ichigo choked out a gasp. "**You see, the same technique I used to trick you, is working on her!**" The hollow laughed in sick delight. "**What you see of me now is just a projection left behind by my hollow reiatsu still lingering in the area. Who I'm really with is that girl! What was her name? Sakura? Ah I wonder if she tastes as good as she looks.**" Ichigo was seething, and out of rage he launched himself at the dissipating hollow and did not make a hit.

And somewhere off in the distance, he heard an unearthly chuckle; and a very terrified _scream._

* * *

><p>:D Cliff hanger, hanging from a tree!~ And that's why they call him cliff hanger!<p>

"Can't….hold…on…much…longer!" If you do not know where that is from, between the lions plox. YOUTUBE IT, GO NOW.

Did you like it? Did ya? Did ya? :D REVIEW AND CRITIQUE IS BERY BERY WELCOME.

**Note: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH, IT'S CHARACTERS, AFFILIATES, OR NARUTO, AND ITS CHARACTERS, OR IT'S AFFILIATES. ALL CREDITS FOR CHARACTERS, COMPANIES, AFFILIATES, ETC. GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. Respectively. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT. LOL.**

**. . . **

no previews this time

i decided to troll yu gaiz and make yu wait for the next chappie. heheee

writers blok writers blok writers blok writers blok writers blok writers blok writers blok writers blok

Funfax: I beat my last chapter by roughly 661 words.

...I abuse the enter key too much.


	4. 015 Respond, Please!

01.5

. . . .

'réspondez,

_s'il vous_

_plaît'_

. . . .

01.5

* * *

><p>She fell backwards in a quickened attempt to escape the grasp of Ai. Right before she could dodge out of the way, Ai launched herself at Sakura and grabbed her arm. Sakura struggled to free herself from Ai's grasp, but not before feeling a hot burning sensation through the sleeve of her sweater.<p>

She began to scream, and she screamed frantically, begging someone to magically appear and save her.

"**There's no use screaming now, girl. With any luck this miasma will destroy you before that Ichigo comes to save you!"** Ai did not let go, and Sakura jerked her arm once more, successfully getting her arm free. She started to back away, only to trip backwards. Her ankle was swollen from tripping on the big cement rubble from earlier.

No tears could be shed for the predicament she was in; she'd lost her ability to cry and mourn after her parents died. She looked down at her pale fingers, half-hidden by the green, luscious grass. She looked up again, and when she did, it was a sight she was not expecting to see.

Before her, Ai had morphed several different shapes before finally morphing into a tall, quite handsome man; almost a mirror image of herself, except a little taller and the hair, a little less pink.

"**You see,"** it began **"I can be whoever I want to be, whenever I want to be." **Slowly, the figure advanced towards the place where Sakura had fallen and raised a pale hand to her face. Slowly, it moved a stray lock from her face and caressed her flushed cheek.

"_Who...what are you?" _Sakura whispered. She looked up into emerald eyes that stared back at her with a mocking curiosity. Suddenly, hands roughly grasped both sides of her head, and another forehead was crashing into hers.

"_**Grand Fisher."**_ Grand Fisher's lips crashed to Sakura's own and she struggled against his iron grip on her head. His lips moved roughly and violently on hers, and she was losing conscious every second that passed by. One hand moved to her lower back, and pushed her flush against his body. Sakura struggled and struggled against him, while he groaned and pulled her closer. A sudden eruption of reiatsu surrounded them, making their hair fly up wildly.

He was sucking out her reiatsu, and she didn't even know it. Sakura's eyes dropped little by little; the world becoming hazier and hazier before her very eyes.

**Moi fleur de cerisier! **A voice called to her. She glanced around, but saw nobody.

**Moi fleur de cerisier! **The voice repeated. It sounded as if the voice was coming from inside her head._**Moi fleur de cerisier!**_ Inner Sakura? She had thought that her inner alter-ego had disappeared a while ago.

Sakura's eyes were half-mast, and she could feel her limbs become unresponsive to her motor commands.

_**Réspondez, s'il vous plait!**_Her eyes became saucers, and her pupils disappeared behind a sea of soft, emerald green. She was blind and deaf to the world and her motor skills—impaired. Her eyelids descended serenely, and she lost consciousness. Sakura was vulnerable now; so very weak and defenseless. Her reflexes—disabled.

She slouched in the grip of Grand Fisher, and he seemed to not care until the flux of reiatsu that was leaking from her subsided. He knew that she had more within her; that there was some kind of a strange force withholding her delicious power. He contemplated about who and what the force could possibly be.

"_**Could it be…?" **_He asked himself for a moment. Faux eyes shone with a flash of anger, rage, and mischief. **"Well now, can't have another one running around; they'll be the death of me. We'll have to fix that, shan't we?" **He mischievously chuckled to himself. A violent playfulness danced around the edges of his eyes as his face contorted into a wickedly painful smile that showed no mercy. He latched his mouth onto Sakura's exposed neck and sucked, leaving in his wake a dark, infected love bite that began to pulsate on her skin. It began to grow spider-leg like purple veins that began to slowly spread outwards; it was meant to feed on her reiatsu and life force and keep it at a bare minimum.

Looking at his hand, he watched as his fingernails extended and morphed into claws. He crouched down to the soggy, wet grass and used his hand to make a makeshift hiding place for Sakura. He dug a hole that was six feet deep and ten feet wide.

Slowly, he raised his eyes back to Sakura's unconscious form and sniggered to himself maniacally. He stood up again and proceeded towards where she lay and straddled her waist. His eyes roamed her body and he groaned when he felt a foreign object pushing itself out from inside his pants. _**"Humans…."**_ He cursed silently. Images of what he would do to this vulnerable girl beneath him flitted across his mind, and before he knew it his palm darted towards her clothed chest.

Sparks of a kind of repelling kido shocked his hand and racked through his entire frame as he fought to escape from the unconscious girl's body. He glared at her maliciously when he looked back to see her still asleep. Using his foot, he kicked her all the way over to the pit he made, and then proceeded to kick her over with little grace and no ounce of regret. He jumped in after her and landed graciously on his two feet.

"_**I don't see why boss is so obsessed with you anyways."**_ He growled. Had things gone his way, he would've raped the girl and forced her to bear his offspring, but _no_. They had to do things the sadistically long and painfully boring way like smart bastards. Had things _gone his way, Ichigo would have been _**eliminated**. But _no._

The Sakura gender-bender imposter reached into his back pocket and produced a large, pink blanket covered in cherry blossoms. He spread it and lay it over Sakura's sleeping form, knowing that his boss was out watching him. He wanted—no _needed_ to survive! He had plans, and if he wanted to carry out those plans he had found it in his best interest to listen and obey what the boss man says.

He looked back at the blanket resting on the girl's form; _Haruno Sakura_ embroidered in kanji next to one of the cherry blossoms. He sighed to himself, wondering if his boss was really as scary as others made him out to be or just a big ball of emotional fluff. He cursed under his breath and a flash of lightning came down right next to him and he jumped like a cat and ran to a side of the mud wall and cowered in fear, while saying his prayers.

He looked behind him again, and saw that the blanket also formed some kind of barrier around her. He looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds were congregating again to create another rain storm. Hastily, he climbed up the mud wall and over the top, searching around for big leaves, twigs, and branches to at least protect the pit from the rain. He found some, and quickly made use of the little time he had left before the storm came along.

He finished just in time as the sky began to rumble its low, and mighty rumble. He heard footsteps not too far away from his position, and by the pattern and flow of reiatsu he could tell that it was none other than Kurosaki Ichigo. Grand Fisher smiled a huge, shit-eating grin that would put even the Joker to shame, and began to morph and shapeshift his form to match that of Sakura's. Every detail he had down; all except for one.

The rustling became louder. Faux Sakura settled down next to a tree trunk and faked tears as if to show disappointment and regret that she let Grand Fisher escape.

In the bushes across from him, Ichigo stumbled out. His appearance was messy; leaves and twigs in his hair, completed with uneven panting. Imposter Sakura made sure to keep her voice out of his range of hearing, because her voice was actually still the same pitch as Grand Fisher's. She looked up at him and tried to stifle a giggle.

"You pink-haired brat! You head butted me! Do you know how much that hurt?" Ichigo yelled. Faux Sakura shook her head timidly. Ichigo halted his tirade to ask her if she was okay. Faux Sakura simply swallowed, and swallowed hard to adjust her larynx to the right pitch and tone of Sakura.

"I'm _fine_."

"Well that's good, 'cause now we can go back. Naruto's worried about you." Ichigo said with a gentler tone of voice. He stalked toward faux Sakura and turned his back so it was facing her. He kneeled down to allow her on his back. Faux Sakura looked at him in question.

"You must be tired, right? So hop on. No complaints." Ichigo said without turning around in a tone of voice that left no room for complaints. Faux Sakura smiled a wide, evil grin that leaked so much bloodlust and desire to destroy that the animals in the surrounding scurried and flew away to safety.

"Well, if you _insist_." She said coyly. She climbed onto his back, and yelped when Ichigo hooked his hands under her knees. "Hold on tight." He said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged her close, but not before saying something to shock her.

"Your reiatsu signature is different."

* * *

><p>this chapter was short lol.<p>

question: should I make an Omake to go with this story? like christmas omake and stuff?

yes, those words are french.

_**Réspondez, s'il vous plait!-Respond Please!**_

**Moi fleur de cerisier!- My Cherry Blossom!**

**:b i like french words tr0l0l0l0**

I hope that wasn't too much of a cliffy :'(

I wanted to finish this as a Christmas present for yu gaiz since you've been so kind to me :')

Merry Christmas! And have a Happy New Year! :D

**Critics are still welcome. Don't forget to R&R ;b**

**I DO NOT OWN BLEACH, NARUTO, OR AM AFFILIATED IN ANYWAY, SHAPE, OR FORM WITH THE ORIGINAL STORY LINE, PLOT, COMPANY, AND AM NOT BEING ENDORSED, OR PAID TO DO THIS. ALL RIGHTS AND CHARACTERS GO TO THEIR CREATORS, RESPECTIVELY.**

**I ONLY OWN DA PLOT LOLOLOLO**


	5. Bonus One

おまけ

の

一

….

Bonus Chapter

1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Perhaps you could say that.

_Perhaps, you could all claim that this, this obsession, my downfall stemmed from a simple meeting._

Because even the strongest beings have their own weaknesses.

_Simplicity in Complexity. Or is it the other way around?_

….

* * *

><p>"…-kun!" I calmly turned my head to face the person that was calling my name. Pink hair rushed into view before I was tackle-hugged to the ground. We laughed and embraced each other before getting back up to talk. <em>Sakura<em>. She pulled out a monocle and a fake moustache, and proceeded to stroke her chin while asking me something in the most trivial—yet _amusing—_of ways.

"Would thou be so graced as to accompany me to the park of amusement and fancies today?" I couldn't help but chuckle at the gleam in her eyes. "But of course, my fair man." I did a curtsey in mock amusement. "So, what have you accomplished today?" I asked her. She pouted and then mumbled something under her breath. I flicked her ear. "Ouch! What was that for, you bastard?" She began to throw punches in my direction while I smoothly dodged them. She was tired not soon after. "Jeez…." She said. The look on her face when she is frustrated was so cute, I just couldn't help myself. I always got a kick out of teasing people to the point of madness. _Something about it made it so entertaining._

_Watching the slow descent into madness of someone else is quite interesting. Even when they are least expecting it._

_Maybe because he was already mad himself. _

…..

* * *

><p>I sat at my desk in my small apartment doing paperwork.<p>

'_bzzzzzz' _I glanced at my phone. It was a text from Sakura.

From Sakura: _Hey! I found this really neat castle game online! I can be a King and you can be the Queen! Together we will dominate our subjects and rule the virtual world! *cue maniacal laughter here*_

Reply: _I don't have the time. Besides, where did you find this game anyways? Please tell me that you did not click an advertisement with pictures of scantily clad women promising to give you an entire castle to rule?_

_P.S., I didn't know as of late that I could take on the role of a female spouse._

From Sakura: _Heh-heh, funny you should mention advertisements! I also found this one called game-vance and whenever I want to play a game, it keeps loading more and more games onto my desktop! Pretty cool, huh?_

_P.S.S., Yes, you would make a very lovely female spouse. All we have to do is curl that hair of yours and apply make-up and accessories!_

I literally face-palmed. This girl is certainly not an expert on computers. Sighing, I stood up, grabbed my keys, and headed out of the door of my apartment, fully intent on giving this girl a piece of my mind. I walked and made turns wherever necessary, while avoiding all flirtatious looks from females who passed by. They do not interest me in the slightest.

Arriving at her doorstep, I texted her a quick _open the door_ and she came crashing to the door step. "Oh hello! Fancy seeing you here huh? So how's the wea- "I flicked her forehead. "You are an idiot you know that? Show me your computer." She grudgingly obeyed. I followed her down a corridor that ran past a staircase and made a right towards a door to a room that held her computer. I looked around. It was dark even though it was mid-day. I could barely make out the outlines of ornaments that hung on the wall.

"…-kun?" I hadn't even noticed that I had stopped walking. She called my name from where she was standing in the doorway.

"Why don't you open the windows?" I inquired. She shrugged. I looked to the wall on my right. It looked dusty. I dragged my index finger down the wall, and sure enough dust particles littered my finger.

Then a thought struck me. "How long has it been since another person has lived here?" I looked at her questioningly. She seemed to flinch before turning on the defensive. "What, are we playing twenty questions or something?" I looked on at her silently. She looked rugged, tired, and lonely. Quite different from her usual outwards display. I sighed. "No, we aren't. Now show me your computer. You have a virus." I said while advancing forward.

She sputtered. "V-virus?"

"Yes, a virus. Perhaps I need to educate you later about clicking advertisements on the web, no?" I smirked at her.

I sat at her desk. The computer was already logged in, and I watched as the icons on her desktop endlessly multiplied. Then there was a pop-up that advertised the building of your own castle and ruling as a king whose spouse is another female player. I glanced at Sakura. She was sitting next to me, seemingly hypnotized by the computer monitor. I coughed to get her attention.

"If I could take over this wretched world in which we live, if I could make it a utopia just for you, and you could do whatever you wanted with it, and asked you to be my queen, would you accept?" I said rather boldly. She seemed to not understand. "What was that?" She asked. "Nothing, don't worry about it." I replied. There was a long silence before she talked again.

"That sounds quite appetizing." She sounded amused before her voice sobered up again. "A world just for me? That would be wonderful. If only…" She sighed. Little did she know, and at times I was grateful that she didn't know. I fingered a small, green and roundish pill in my pocket. I looked at the window that was in front of us, it was shaded by a large tree outside. I focused on it a little more and saw our reflection. Blinking once, my eyes took on an other-worldly pigment. I blinked again and they were back to normal.

_Because this constant madness is only for you, my sweet._

…..

* * *

><p>It was midday when I appeared in her room. I knew she could see me in this form, because I allowed it. Yet, she was still sleeping. I looked down at her. She looked so peaceful and angelic with her pink hair fanned out around her head on her pillow. Her lips allowing air passage into her lungs. I touched her face gently. She began to stir, and before I knew it, emerald eyes were staring up at me in wonderment. "…-kun?" I was distracted. "Did you get new contacts? And what's with the strange get-up?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes. "Happy Birthday, Sakura." I said. My face was probably looking uncharacteristically caring right now but that didn't deter me from what I was about to do. I scooped her up in my arms and I shunpo'd out of her room so as to not give her motion sickness. We were outside in mid-air. I shunpo'd again higher in the air and held her there.<p>

"Wh-what are we…how?" She began to fire questions at me but I silenced her. "Look around, this is all for you, my sweet." She was stunned. "A-are..what…for m-me?" I chuckled. She adjusted herself in my hold to look around at the town in which we both resided, Karakura town. Right next to it was Konoha, her birthplace. "What's that? And why is it glowing?" I looked in the direction of what she was talking about and was suddenly reminded of what I was up to earlier today. "With that" I breathed into her ear "we shall rule the heavens." She shuddered in my hold.

Suddenly she screamed. Why had she screamed? Then I realized I was falling, and blood was coming into my vision. I had been hit, I let my guard down and now I was paying the price.

I wasn't able to solidify the spirit particles around me in order to keep from falling from inevitable death. All I could think about was keeping her safe, because with no doubt _they_ would think that she was an accomplice in my grand scheme of plots. _Bastards_.

At this point, the only thing I could do was to at least slow down the impact significantly, and so I did. We reached the ground, and Sakura wasn't hurt. It was too late for me.

"Y-you can't die! You can't! Not yet, not yet!" Sakura was in hysterics, crying hard, pulling on the front of my outfit. I reached my hand out tiredly and stroked her cheek with the thumb of my right hand.

"N-now. D-don't cry. Show me those beautif-ful eyes of y-yours." I finished with a lot of effort. She opened her striking emerald eyes and gazed down at me. There was so much hurt in her eyes, but I didn't really care. I lowered my hand into the pool of blood that was quickly forming beneath me, and dipped my thumb into it. I raised my thumb back up again and began to write a message on her cheek. She held my wrist lovingly and leaned into my touch. I could feel the reiatsu of _him_ and the others who were after me.

_The one who struck me. _

"…-kun?" I was always so distracted whenever she called my name. I always missed the kind of face she made whenever she said it.

They were here, and I glanced to the side to see the faces of all of them, his little gang. So I'd been hit with his famous 'Getsuga Tenshou'? What a way to go. I didn't want help, it was better to die this way.

_Even though I was just running away from my problems._

I gave them the craziest face I could muster, and then I shifted my head back to Sakura.

"C-closer…" She obliged and tilted her ear towards my mouth. "Home…my dr-drawer..pr-present f-for you..n-night stand.." It was getting really hard for me to breathe. I began to close my eyes, everything fading away. The last thing I heard before the darkness completely enveloped me was_ him._

"_Aizen!"_

….

* * *

><p>Sakura sat there, a look of disbelief at what was being told to her.<p>

"However, even in all that madness, I do believe that Aizen-kun really loved you." A man in a striped hat said to her. "And by the way Sakura-san, I would advise you to take a look at your left cheek before heading back." He handed her a mirror. She looked at what was written in blood by her late best friend. '_Happy Birthday Sakura_' was written in Japanese, but that is not what made her tear up again. Underneath it she saw what he had begun to write but couldn't finish._ 'I love'_ was written in kanji.

She also remembered what Aizen was telling her before he died. Something for her was waiting on his nightstand at his apartment.

She arrived at his door, but it was locked. She pulled out a spare key that was under the mat and let herself in. She walked past the kitchen and made a right and walked into one of the rooms. In it was a nightstand, and next to it was a bed. She proceeded forward and on the nightstand she saw a small, closed box with a piece of folded paper on top.

She opened the small box and in it was a ring, and inside the ring her name was engraved. She then opened the piece of paper and promptly dropped to the floor and began crying.

_Sakura Haruno, will you be my queen?_

….

* * *

><p>An omake. ~~~~~ I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope Aizen wasn't too terribly OOC -I kind of feel bad for making the chars ooc.-<p>

if this makes no sense, then I apologize =v=

This is to make up for not uploading a chapter sooner =v= I have been very busy with school…I'll try to update when I can!

See you soon!

Critics are **welcome.**

* * *

><p><strong>Oh and on another note, I really appreciate your guy's feedback. =v= Sorry if I seem ungrateful 'orz<strong>

**DO NOT OWN BLEACH AND/OR NARUTO **


	6. 016 deus ex machina

01.6

. . . .

i need a

_deus ex machina_

'_god out of the machine'_

. . . .

01.6

* * *

><p>Viridian eyes flickered open to familiar surroundings. She was back in her apartment again. <em>But how?<em> She looked around the small room. Everything was—or seemed to be—in place. She got out of bed and traveled to the built-in mirror on her nightstand. Sakura raised a hand to the right side of her neck and stroked the area tenderly.

"I swear there was a mutated mark right her-"

"Good morning Sakura-chan!" Sakura whipped her head to the source of the noise, only to see none other than Naruto and is signature grin sitting on her windowsill. _Wait, windowsill? Is this some kind of a joke? And why is he wearing an orange jumpsuit? What's with that headband?_

"Sakura-chan…are you okay? Hey, hello? Earth to Sakura-ch-Ow! That hurt!" she flicked his forehead. "Shut up, Naruto! Why are you so noisy today? Wait, nevermind. And what's with that get up?"

"What do you mean? I've always worn this getup! What about you? Why are you wearing civilian clothes anyways?"

"Civilian clothes?" She seethed. This was getting really old, really fast. I mean really, civilian clothes? This isn't some wartime videogame or something. "This is how I always dress, you idiot!" She flicked his nose this time.

"Ouch! Come on Sakura-chan that hurts!" Naruto whined while rubbing his nose. He noticed that she was holding her chin, deep in thought. Getting closer to her, he snaked his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. Sakura was surprised at this. "Hey," He began "What's on your mind? Is it Sasuke again?" He finished quietly.

"Of course not, Naruto. I have more important things to be worrying about." She said with finality. He seemed to have momentarily sagged against her form before standing upright again and looking at her straight in the eyes. "You can tell me anything, Sakura-chan. _**Anything**_." At that last part his voice morphed into an all too familiar tone and she tensed and immediately began to struggle against his hold on her. This caused him to hold her tighter and closer before diving his head down to suck on the spot of her neck that she had been touching not long ago. She let out a high-pitched scream from the sudden onslaught of pain that wracked her body, and her vision went dark once again.

She was not unconscious though.

She felt as if she were floating….

'**Ma fleur de cerisier**!' (A/N: Thank you **ptitemli(almost anonymous reviewer)**! I appreciate the correction on the French! Haha.) Sakura's eyes darted around, trying to locate the source of the voice. '_**Over here, you silly girl! I never expected my outer host to be so dense!**__' _The voice teased. Sakura kept looking around, but no luck. So she decided to briefly close her eyes, and when she reopened them again she found that she was in field of cherry blossoms that seemed to go on forever. She opened her mouth to speak but air bubbles were the only thing that came out. She looked around her and at the sky. Everywhere was kind of dark and murky, and the air around her was somehow liquid, like water filled up the entire place where the air once was. _And yet_ _I'm not drowning?_ She wondered. She noticed a soft singing echoing in the distance. Rising to her feet, she walked towards the singing, fully intent on finding out where she was and why.

After a few minutes of walking, she arrived at what looked like a garden gate, and it was locked. The soft singing was flowing out from the inside. She gave the long chain on the gate a yank, but it would not give in. So, getting on her hands and knees, she got to looking for a key somewhere in the endless cherry blossoms on the ground in front of the gate. Minutes passed by and she had zero luck in finding it. She saw white sandaled socks steadily approach her. Her eyes widened as she looked up to see a mirror image of herself in a white shihakushō, but this mysterious character was not exactly like her; this person had a paler, almost deathly pigment to her skin and the eyes took on an other-worldly pigment— gold irises upon black. She had a large gaping hole in her stomach, and on her head was a cracked skull mask that was decorated with black cherry blossoms and lines on one side. This figure looked down at her in contempt, and the short-cropped pink hair that was flowing around her head did not make her seem any less intimidating.

After a long silence, Sakura asked "Who are you?"

The other Sakura seemed to ponder this question as if to think about how she would answer it, for she cocked her head to the side and brought her index finger to her chin. There was another pause. "_**Who wants to know**_?"

"Who else?" Sakura responded. The other Sakura stretched out her hand for the real Sakura to take a hold of before sneering and kicking her in her stomach into the gates of the garden. Sakura keeled over, clutching her stomach in pain. The other Sakura grabbed her hair and yanked her head up to make eye-contact with her. "_**Yami Sakura.**__" _Yami Sakura gripped Sakura's hair in a death-grip and slammed her back into the garden gates.

The singing stopped.

…..

* * *

><p>A pale face under a nicely embroidered blanket scrunched up in pain before relaxing again. A steady stream of blood began to flow from the corner of her mouth.<p>

* * *

><p>"W-what do you mean my reiatsu signature is different? It's always been the same!" Faux Sakura lied through a sickly sweet voice. Ichigo remained quiet throughout the journey home. '<em>That can't be right! I am not bad at this kind of thing…okay well maybe I am but still! I was able to find Rukia after she had been kidnapped!' <em>Ichigo was having an internal battle before something struck him. "What happened to that hollow?" He asked. "I killed it." She responded. The gears in his head were turning. "Hey," He began, "If you don't mind, I'm going to make a stop at an old friend of my dad and I before heading back, okay?" He questioned. "Sure. I have nowhere else to be anyways." '_Bingo.'_

And with that, he changed direction and headed to a shop that housed a striped-hat and clogs wearing 'old' man and his assistants.

….

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Corrupt the innocence of all, Yami no Katana*!<strong>__" _Yami Sakura unsheathed her katana and swept her hand down the length. A bloody and bruised Sakura sat and watched in awe as the katana turned into a large scythe. A black cherry blossom was tattooed along the length of the blade. "_**I refuse to have such a weakling as my master!**__" _Yami Sakura yelled as she brought the scythe down upon Sakura. Sakura could only close her eyes as she awaited the blow to end her life.

The blow never came.

Instead, a sharp clang of metal on metal met her ears. She opened her eyes again to see another figure standing in front of her in a fighting stance. She was blocking the katana-turned scythe with her katana. They were at a stale mate for a while, one trying to out push the other before they jumped apart. "_**Don't get in my way, you fool!**__" _Yami Sakura yelled to the other person. The other figure darted towards Yami Sakura and started swishing their katana at a fast pace at Yami Sakura, barely giver her enough time to dodge the attacks. Yami Sakura ( A/N: let's call her Yami from now on LOL) side stepped and began to swing her scythe at the other figure. The other figure parried the attacks easily, but then she jumped back to stand in front of Sakura again. Sakura got a good look at this new character and saw that her hair was also pink, but this time her hair was long and it flowed. Her eye was a dark green iris on black. The figure glanced at Sakura out of the corner of her eye and asked Sakura a question. "_**Who am I?**__" _

"I don't know. Who are you?" She responded. A blade narrowly missed this other Sakura-look alike and got stuck deep into the ground. "_**This is no time to talk! Fight me!**__" _Yami Sakura yelled out in frustration and anger. She struggled to get her scythe out of the ground as the other Sakura look-alike stood protectively in front of Sakura. She repeated the same question again. "_**Who am I?**__"_

Sakura became frustrated with her. "I don't know who you are! I don't know where I am, or how I got here, but I really would seriously be happy if I could just leave!" She cried out desperately. The figure glanced at her once more and said cryptically, "_**Look all around you. For everything bad always has its good side. Fear not, for we are inside of your mind. This vast atmosphere is flooded with the waters of your despair, yet they keep the cherry blossoms hydrated without drowning them with excess. I wish to elaborate more however the situation at hand prevents me from doing so. With this last statement, I request that you ponder this deeply; for everything that is Yin, there is Yang.**__"_ And with that last statement, Yami pulled her sword out of the ground and struck down on this mysterious figure, forcing her knees to bend a little and her face to twist into one that shows great struggle. She was getting tired.

Sakura looked down to her hands that rest in her lap as she sat there and thought about what she was told for a little bit. '_Come on! I should know this…wait, Yami Sakura…the opposite of dark is…'_

"Your name is…Hikari no Sakura*!" Sakura exclaimed. A bright and blinding light erupted from Hikari no Sakura's (let's just call her Hikari lmfao) katana and surrounded Hikari and her sword with light. The girl's hair was surrounded by cherry blossom wreaths and she was wearing a pink yukata adorned with cherry blossoms and a yellow obi around the waist. Her feet were bare. Yami grinded her teeth out of frustration and quickly retreated, but not before saying "_**I'll catch you later, Queen.**__" _She disappeared completely.

Sakura shakily rose to her feet and staggered a bit. She then looked at Hikari, and Hikari gave her a small smile instead. "_**That was quite a farce, wouldn't you agree?**__"_ Hikari asked. "Sure." Sakura replied. "Where am I? Why am I here?" Sakura asked. "_**I'm afraid I cannot go into detail until later, Sakura-chan. Until then, I bid you adieu.**__"_

"Hey-" Sakura was cut off as a pale finger poked her in the forehead and turned her world black.

She awoke panting and ran calloused yet dainty fingers through her pink tresses. _Where am I this time?_ She looked down to see a cherry blossom embroidered blanket pool around her waist on her legs and she couldn't help but wonder if everything and everyone in her life would make references to cherry blossoms, her hair, and her name. She yawned and stretched her limbs out before getting up and scoping the place. It was pretty dark. She looked up and saw a bit of green being reflected on by the moonlight. '_Well, it's official. I somehow ended up in a ditch. How does that happen anyways? Looks like I'm going to have to sleep here. I will move at day break.' _And with that thought she settled herself against the wall of the muddy ditch and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>did you liek it? huh? huh?1!one!0!<p>

for those of you who have apple products like ipod 4g and + and iphone, [Fanfiction (.) net] has an app! i can read my stories offline and it is fantastic, so i recommend you check it out!

***deus ex machina is latin for 'god out of the machine'. wikipedia it or wait till i come back later to explain cause it's like 12:30 a.m. and i'm tired LOL.

*1 Sword of Darkness, or Dark Sword

*2 Light Cherry Blossom, Cherry Blossom of light

*3Yami Sakura-Dark Sakura, Dark Cherry Blossom

Well, look at that, another chapter! Well, I'll see you guys around. Review for more! **Critiques are Welcome.**


	7. 017 jouez avec moi

01.7

…..

jouez avec moi

'_play with me_'

…..

01.7

* * *

><p>'<em>Clankclankclank. Slide' <em> "Yo! Hat and clogs! I'm here to talk to you about something and we have a visitor!" An orange-headed teenager yelled as he stomped shamelessly through his host's house. "Ah, Ichigo-kun, what a pleasant surprise! Kuchiki-san is here. She's just in the other room. I'll go get her for you. By the way, who is that on your back?" He asked.

"Thanks Urahara-san. I'll…tell you later." Ichigo said while giving Urahara a guarded look. Urahara nodded and gave a knowing look in turn and turned to walk through one of the shoji doors on his right. He remerged later with Rukia tapping away loudly on her flip phone. Ichigo snatched the phone out of her hand, set the sleeping girl down against the wall, and then headed off down the hall, mumbling something about finding Ururu. "You bastard! Give me back my phone!" Rukia yelled with fervor. "Calm down, Rukia! I'll just be a second!" Ichigo yelled back from down the hall.

He yanked open Ururu's room door to find her reading a book. "Oi, Ururu. You mind if I borrow that phone of yours?" Ururu shook her head and tossed Ichigo her cell. "Thanks, I'll bring this back soon, okay?" Ururu nodded and went back to reading her book. Ichigo closed the door behind him and ran back to Urahara. He synched both of the phones together and gave Urahara Ururu's cellphone. He held Rukia's in his hand. "What are you up to, Ichigo-kun?" Ichigo ignored this and started to tap away at Rukia's phone. Two seconds later the phone in Urahara's phone began to beep and ring uncontrollably. He flipped open the phone and started to read the text message that was sent by Ichigo.

'_That girl is not Sakura. I suspect her to be Grand Fisher in disguise, but I can't be too sure. Any ideas?'_ Urahara grunted then swallowed slowly while glancing at the currently sleeping figure that was not too far away from him. He paused for a moment before tapping his thumb on Ururu's cellphone keypad, mind buzzing with possible solutions to their predicament. After typing the message, he clicked send and Rukia's phone that was in Ichigo's hands began to ring the song _'Tonight Tonight Tonight'_ by Beat Crusaders. He looked at Rukia mockingly and she returned the look with a frustrated scowl. He flipped the phone open and bit his tongue to keep from yelling out of anger. _'My my Kurosaki-kun, I didn't think you to be the type to actually THINK about the situation before charging in. Must be the hormones these days, eh?' _Ichigo picked up an object nearest to him and chucked it at Urahara.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara said in a sing-song voice.

"Huh?" Ichigo grunted.

"A wise boy once said to me; 'Be the leaf'." Urahara flipped out his fan and began to fan himself. A black cat with golden yellow eyes appeared and took in the situation. The cat then left the scene and wondered off to town, hoping for a free meal from a human.

* * *

><p>Black converse trudged through the muddy earth floor before coming to a stop in front of a playground in a park that was widely known as "Karakura Town Park". Nervously, she grabbed the straps of her backpack and proceeded forward with a limp. She pulled out her iPod and pressed the home button on it and the screen lit up. Four-thirty it read. Sakura placed the iPod back in her pocket and looked forward. She had just exited the Karakura Town park and into the empty streets of Karakura Town. Looking to her right, she saw a strong light coming from what seemed to be a stand. A nice, rich, and delicious smell wafted through the murky air to her nose. Her stomach grumbled loudly.<p>

It was a food shop.

_Food._

Sakura hadn't realized she was hungry earlier; her mind focused on the events that had transpired. From the strange, crying little girl named 'Ai'—or so she thought; she had no other name to call her by—to the randomly dressed orange-headed teenager named Ichigo who was quite strange and wielded a butcher knife for some apparent reason. But she supposed that wasn't as strange as waking up in a ditch with a blanket—that she had never seen _nor_ owned before—with her name stitched onto it. The blanket was well designed—made from the finest silks and patterns—so she couldn't have possibly left it behind. She'd folded it neatly and placed it into her backpack before struggling to climb out of that damn hole with a sprained ankle.

Sakura arrived at the food stand that was labeled _Ichiraku's Food Stand_ and dug her hands into both of her front jeans pockets. She felt a piece of paper and pulled it out. On it read Ai's name in kanji with a safety pin attached to the top. Why was she still holding Ai's nametag? She hadn't seen Ai when she left the park. Maybe someone found her and took her in? Sakura hoped that was the case because she felt like she was missing something; like she had been robbed a part of her memory.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's!" Sakura was startled out of her thinking as she looked at the lady behind the counter. She seemed to be bright and happy at this ungodly hour. Her nametag read '_Ayame_'.

"What would you like to eat or drink this morning, miss? Can't go to sleep? Have somewhere to be? Then try out our special; Ichiraku's Super Rejuvenating Problem-Solving Ramen! You will be the first to try our Special, so it's on the house!" Sakura went behind one of the four flaps that covered part of the shop from outside view and sat on one of the stools. "Sure. May I also have onigiri, umeboshi, anmitsu, some sushi and potstickers?" A little drool was beginning to drip from the corner of her mouth. This caused Ayame to giggle. "Yes, you may, and how many of each would you like?" "Six of each please. And also"—Ayame looked up—"could you make the onigiri salmon flavored?" She nodded. "Are you sure you can eat all of that?" Ayame asked as she scribbled down her order on a notepad. Sakura nodded vigorously. Ayame giggled again. "You're quite the customer, aren't you? Well, your order will be ready in a few." Ayame winked and walked back to a man who was cooking on a stove top and handed him the order. The man nodded and began to chop, flip, and stir his ingredients meticulously yet quickly.

Sakura looked to her right and saw a black cat with piercing golden eyes stare up at her curiously. Sakura looked back with the same facial expression. She reached her finger out to the cat, and the cat began licking her finger. '_What a cute cat. I wonder who its owner is…'_ The cat suddenly climbed onto Sakura's chair, then her back, and then jumped off of her shoulder onto the ramen counter. It stared back at her mockingly. Sakura scowled back at the cat.

"Here's your order!" Sakura jumped at the sound of Ayame's voice. "Already done?" That was quick. "Yep! Our shop is notorious for quick customer service in the whole Karakura-Konoha area!" She wondered why she had never heard of this shop before. "Here you are: six onigiri, umeboshi, anmitsu, sushi, and potstickers!" Ayame had one big dish with the food placed on a giant leaf. They all looked so appetizing! Sakura's mouth began to water, and her stomach began to growl really loudly. "Your soy sauce is in the middle of the plate. Your ramen will be ready in a few." Ayame turned back to aid the man in cooking the ramen Special. Sakura immediately devoured two of her onigiri balls whole. '_Oh sweet, sweet kami! These are so delicious! I think I'm in heaven...'_ She savored the taste for as long as she could.

"Meow". Sakura almost forgot about the black cat. "Would you like some too?" The cat nodded its head. She broke off a piece of the onigiri and laid it next to the cat's paws. The cat began to lick the rice. Sakura popped another onigiri into her mouth. And another, and another until all the onigiri was finished. Next she moved on to the sushi. The cat that was sitting on the counter snatched one of the sushi rolls away from her fingers and hissed at Sakura. Sakura glared at the cat. "Hey, remember who paid for this meal! Selfish little…" She mumbled the last part as she dipped another piece of sushi into the soy sauce and chewed it carefully. She watched as the cat licked the sushi it had stolen moments ago. To her right, a steaming hot bowl of delicious looking ramen was placed down on the counter. Sakura stopped mid-chew and looked up.

"Here you go! One steaming hot Ichiraku's Super Rejuvenating Problem-Solving Ramen!" Sakura looked at the bowl and noticed a lot of Naruto Maki* in it. "A special customer of ours suggested that we put a lot of Naruto Maki in the ramen! He even gave us specific orders to serve it to a certain pink-headed green-eye girl, should we see her on the streets passing by our shop. He even paid us a hefty sum to convince us, but we were already convinced. This girl he talked about sounded special to him, because he always said good things about her. Tell me,"—she began, to ask—"would you happen to be Haruno Sakura?" She nodded and then swallowed hard. Ayame smiled then turned to the man in the kitchen. "See father! I told you I had a good eye!" The man grumbled to himself while cleaning his hands on his hand towel. She turned back to Sakura and gave a wink before petting the eating cat and walking back to the kitchen. Sakura stared at her retreating back before going back to munching on her meal.

_Five minutes later…._

Sakura hardly touched her umeboshi because she was full. She didn't even get to taste the ramen. "May I get a to-go box please?" Ayame nodded and packed Sakura's meal in several take-out boxes. She put them each carefully inside an _Ichiraku's Food Stand_ signature bag. Sakura scrapped up some coins and bills and paid the lady. She patted the black cat on the head and the exited the store. The cat jumped off of the counter and tugged on Sakura's pant leg.

"What is it, boy?" The cat meowed indignantly. Sakura bent down to pat the cat's head but the cat kept on tugging. In fact, the cat seemed to be tugging her towards a certain direction. "Okay, okay, I'll follow you wherever you need to go. Happy?" The cat then mewled in triumph and lead Sakura to an alleyway that had a street on the other side. She walked through, garbage and broken glass, careful to not step on each one. Her ankle no longer bothered her. The cat, however, was leaping and hopping everywhere gracefully and flawlessly. She grumbled to herself, a scowl set on her face. They arrived at the end of the alleyway, where there were less street lights. She looked to her right and saw another shop labeled '_Urahara's Shop'_. The cat led her straight to the front doors of the place. The cat started scratching on the wooden frame of one of the sliding doors and she opened it up to let the cat inside. Sakura turned to leave but the cat meowed at her, as if to invite her in. "I can't possibly intrude in this place-"—she was cut off by the cats meowing. "Alright alright." She took off her shoes at the door and followed the cat around the first corner on her right. There, in front of her was a scene she was not expecting to see; that same strange orange-headed teenager named Ichigo, glaring at a stripped-hat, clog-wearing man named Urahara, another short girl, and an exact—almost_ carbon—_copy of Sakura laying asleep against one of the walls. The copy Sakura opened her eyes and suddenly appeared in front of Sakura's face. The phone Ichigo was holding dropped and yelled for her to move, but his cry fell on deaf ears.

This fake Sakura hooked a finger under Sakura's chin and asked "_Jouez avec moi*_?"

Sakura did not know what came over her, but next thing she knew she was mouthing what the words meant in English along with the fake Sakura.

"_**Play with me?" **_

* * *

><p>this chapter seems kind of filler, doesn't it? sorry about that lol.<p>

*1 naruto maki is that swirly white stuff you see in some ramen noodles. I believe that was what Naruto was named after.

*2 I probably screwed up my French again LOLZ (help my gaiz im dying) but it means "play with me?" yeah I tried to make that sortakinda what the theme of the chapter was I guess idk man

Urahara and Ichigo looked like they were playing a little with the situation ( I mean I tried to make it that way if you didn't see it then that's ok I fail anyways) and then the black cat that was stealing Sakura's foodz and then the fake sakura asking the real sakura to play with her so ya….. lmao ok thanks for reading this installment of Her Story!11!one!1 I really appreciate your feedback and yeah it tickles me pink. If I screwed up PLEASPLEASPLEASE let me know ok?

**CRITICS? WELCOME AS THE DAY I STEPPED INTO YOUR HOUSE WITH MY MUDDY SHOES. (just kidding lmfao CRITICS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME) I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND/OR BLEACH AND ALL OF ITS AFFILIATES AND WHATEVER THOSE SPONSOR PEOPLE ARE CALLED. I ONLY OWN LE PLOT OK SO DON'T SUE ME LOL. im a broke .. yeahhh :c**


	8. 018 supernatural situational events

"Sode no Shira-"

The command was interrupted when a hand was thrust into a female shinigami's way. "Urahara-san", the raven-haired shinigami began, "We have to stop Grand Fisher before he does some serious damage to her!" Urahara brought his fan to his face and began to fan himself. As he looked to both sides of him, he could see Ichigo and Rukia itching to burst into battle. Then he raised his sights to the hole in his ceiling that gave way to the night sky. "Follow me." Ichigo and Rukia stared at his back while he moved away. They gave each other weary looks before following his retreating back. Together, they walked to the front entrance of the store and looked up to see Sakura being held by her neck by the imposter Sakura. Everywhere around them in the space before the entrance into the street from Urahara's shop was littered with rubble and misplaced dust.

"L-let..me..g…go!" Sakura managed to choke out. The imposter Sakura's grip only seemed to tighten around her neck, sending her into a fit of gasping and choking for air. She desperately clawed at the hand that kept her captive. "Sakura!" Ichigo yelled. He jumped forward but was held back by Urahara. "Now, now, Ichigo. Your fight with Grand Fisher was over long ago. We shall sit back and watch for a while. If the situation becomes too dangerous, then we will step in and we can have Tessai perform his kido and/or bakudo to help us. Besides, this encounter might prove very interesting, wouldn't you agree, Ichigo-kun?" Ichigo glared at the hat-and-clogs wearing man and settled down. He focused his attention back to the fight that was playing out before them. The hand that was choking Sakura was removed as the fake Sakura stabbed her hand straight through Sakura's abdomen. She sagged against the imposter before she quickly drew her hand out. What followed next was a sensation unlike anything she has ever felt before. The fake Sakura pulled her hand out, and used the same hand to throw her to a cement wall.

"Ouch, that hurts-" her line of speech was cut off when she was suddenly pulled upwards again. Her vision swam and she struggled to maintain a clear focus on her opponent. "Do you see this?" Imposter Sakura began while picking up a long, silver chain. "This is what connects your pathetic soul body to your human body." She moved the chain up to her mouth and then bit down on it. She began to chew it until it broke completely and then spat out the metallic pieces. "When the chain connecting the soul body to the human body is severed," she thrust the other part of the chain away from her "the chain will begin to encroach upon itself for seventy-two hours' time. After seventy-two hours has passed, and the chain is completely destroyed, you are consumed by an-other-worldly power that will cripple your soul and turn you into a hollow. I, however, will make that shorter for you. Seventy-two hours is such a long time, wouldn't you agree?" She picked up the chain that fell from her chest and watched carefully as the chain began to eat itself. After it stopped, she moved her face near the base of the place where the chain was attached to Sakura's chest and bit down viciously. "If you're lucky," she spat out more metallic pieces, "you could go undetected for a while. If not, you'll be sliced and diced 'til you become part of the reishi particles that make up the Soul Society. I wouldn't put it past them, though, especially that stupid head captain of yours," imposter Sakura shot a mocking glare in Rukia's direction, "Yamotoe Genjoushi Sou-some name I couldn't be bothered to remember." What little was left of the chain that was protruding from Sakura's chest began to eat itself.

"Ichigo-kun, I think you remember what happens with the final encroachment, don't you?" Urahara brought his open fan to his face and looked on over it. Ichigo looked down and away then focused his attention back to Sakura. "The final encroachment," the imposter Sakura dropped Sakura to the ground and backed up as the chain destroyed itself along with the plate that was attached to her chest. Sakura was on her knees as she clawed at the gaping hole in her chest. "What's happening to-AAHH!" Her back arched as she started to scream; her echoes bouncing off the walls as she bent backwards to an unusual arch. Out of her eyes and mouth came this rushing white liquid that engulfed nearly all of her face.

"…_is unlike the rest_."

* * *

><p>01.8<p>

….

neca aut necari

'_kill or be killed _'

….

01.8

"If I can't eat you while you are in human form, then I will surely eat you when you are in hollow form. While you are confused and you run rampant is the perfect time to destroy you." Imposter Sakura looked on in distaste at the scene before her. She then looked to Ichigo and the others and gave them a look of utter contempt and disgust. "Boss'll take care of you guys, later." She turned back to the mutating Sakura. Bit by bit, a hollows mask began to form on her face. Imposter Sakura reached her hand out to grab Sakura but like before, her hand was repelled.

"Tsk, this is not fun at all." She then looked to Ichigo and charged at him. When she threw a punch aimed for his head, he responded by grabbing her fist and tossing her away from him.

"Not bad, Ichigo. You've still got it in you, huh? I whopped your butt last time and I'll do it again this time too." She charged at Ichigo again with her fist and collided with his sword.

"Bring it, scum!" Ichigo yelled in response.

* * *

><p>01.8513<p>

Inner Turbulence

Sakura awoke in darkness.

_Am I dead?_

She seemed to be floating in the darkness. Sakura closed her eyes again then re-opened them. She was lying under a huge cherry-blossom tree in a grassy field filled with flowers of all sorts of varieties. Sitting up, she looked around where she was currently sitting. Getting up, she moved around the big tree and found two younger girls sitting and picking flowers. One had pink hair, and the other had yellow hair.

_Is that me and…Ino?_ Sakura half hid behind the tree, silently observing the younger version of herself and Ino.

"Wow Ino! The flowers you just picked are so pretty, like you. I could never be that pretty with my large forehead…" she said dejectedly.

"Ne, Sakura, you shouldn't let those bullies get to you. Your forehead looks just fine!" Ino said with much enthusiasm. She poked Sakura's nose teasingly. "My mommy said that some people are late bloomers. Maybe you're just a late bloomer too!"

"Late bloomer? More like no bloomer…" the younger Sakura pulled out a Cosmos flower and stared adoringly at it. She held the flower up so that it was next to Ino's face in her vision. The flower faded out of focus as she gazed at Ino longingly. Ino looked up from the flowers she was tinkering with and looked at her age-mate curiously. "Ino, you're just as pretty as this Cosmos flower.." Ino took the flower from Sakura's possession and broke off parts of the stem. "Sometimes," she began "we lose faith in ourselves. We fall down when we are not used to something happening. The same goes with flowers; everyone is different, but with enough love and nurturing, even the latest of bloomers can become the brightest and most beautiful of the bunch." Ino finished tampering with the stem of the flower and held it up to Sakura's face. "Come here, you silly." She said. Sakura hesitatingly drew her head forward, and Ino grabbed some of her pink locks and placed the flower in Sakura's hair. When Sakura sat back, messy strands of hair fell into her forehead. Ino looked at them with frustration and brushed them back so Sakura's forehead was fully exposed. Sakura gazed up at her with sullen eyes. Ino flicked her forehead.

"Ow! What was that for Ino-pig! That hurt…" she whined while rubbing her sore spot. Ino gazed up at the sky and chuckled thoughtfully. "Perhaps you too will grow to be even better than a Cosmos flower." Sakura ceased her rubbing and stared at Ino with wide eyes. "Y-you really think so?" Ino looked back to her and said confidently, "I know so." Sakura lunged for Ino and gave her a big hug, while Ino was struggling to get out of her grasp. "Hey l-lemme go you forehead girl!" Sakura just laughed and hugged her tighter.

Fingernails scraped the bark of a large cherry blossom tree as Sakura looked on at the scene that had just played right before her eyes. The younger Sakura and Ino heard her and whipped their heads in her direction. Sakura made herself known by coming from behind the tree. Both of the younger children stood up. There was an intense stare down between younger Ino, younger Sakura, and Sakura before Ino pulled out a red ribbon from her back pocket. She then held it out so that the younger Sakura could grab it, and when she did the landscape changed into that of a large, mostly cemented room.

She looked around. There was a large electronic board hung high above the ground to one side. As she slowly walked around, she saw many people that looked identical to the people whom she knew in real life. To her right, there was a man who looked like he could be doing something better than just standing where he was, and in front of her was Karin. She looked up at the electronic board, and saw that 'Haruno Sakura vs. Uzumaki Karin' had appeared. She surmised that they were fighting each other. When the bored looking guy who she assumed was the proctor waved his hand down in signal to begin, Karin charged at Sakura with formidable speed. Sakura could barely dodge as she was not used to this kind of thing.

"If you don't stop cowering about and woman up and fight me," Karin began "I'll just have to take Sasuke-kun away from you. It's not like he ever belonged to you in the first place-" she was cut off as Sakura delivered a punch to her right cheek and watched as she flew to the opposing wall. Sakura stared on in bewilderment before staring at her right fist she just used to punch Karin with. She flexed it twice and felt a strange energy running through it. The energy appeared and seemed to burn her hand, yet it was painless and glowed green. Ahead of her, Karin lifted herself out of the rubble and growled at Sakura. "You little wench! You'll _**pay for that**_." Karin raised her arm to face and bit harshly into it. Sakura gasped and took a step back as she watched Karin's injuries disappear. Karin removed her glasses and then closed her eyes. With the hand that wasn't holding her glasses she raked it through her hair slowly until the color turned pink. Then, with the hand that was holding her glasses, she used her other hand she crushed to smithereens in her hand, but she didn't let the pieces fall to the ground. Instead, when she reopened her hand, a small black hair tie appeared in its place. She used the hair tie to tie her now turned pink hair into a bun at the top of her head. Sakura stared on in mild shock that only grew when red now-turned-pink haired Karin opened her eyes to reveal that same other-worldly pigment she had seen so many times before in other characters.

"**What's the matter? Is little Saku afraid to fight now? I guess we'll just have to fix that, won't we?**" She smirked at Sakura. The next thing she did made everyone around the arena flinch with disgust; though the grown-ups seemed to tense and grow suspicious at her action. She opened her mouth wide and stuck her right hand down her throat, and pulled out a katana from her mouth. She then licked the blade all over tantalizingly, getting a rise out of Sakura. She looked up at the spectators for help but they were all more focused on the battle and who was going to win rather than whether or not the present opponents would be a threat to their safety. Sakura looked down at her attire and saw that she was wearing a red hoodie with a white circle as the insignia on her left arm. Feeling around her person, she located a pouch full of weapons just at her lower right back. She pulled out this short, black weird-looking object that didn't seem very useful, but she wielded it in self-defense anyways.

The match proctor sensed the uneasy tension between the two and stood as far back as he could possibly be. He looked to Sakura who seemed unsure as she wielded the sharp object and her morphed opponent who seemed to take on the same look as Sakura, except her eyes were of a foreign nature and looked dark and alluring yet mocking and dangerous. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that up on the spectator balcony that a person walked up to the railing of this spectator balcony to peer on down below. A person, yes, but what attracted her gaze was the fact that as this person made their way through the people crowded around, they seemed to make a way for him to go through, as if he had held a high position in their lives. When she turned her head fully to this person, she found that the body was hidden in folds of red and white, and the hat that covered the person's face was of the same color combination, save for one detail. The hat was tilted in such a way that displayed the kanji on the person's hat; the kanji read "Fire".

Suddenly, conversations erupted out of the other persons in the spectators' place. The person raised a dainty hand, and Sakura surmised that the person was female. All commotion ceased and the woman used that same hand to flick the hat upwards, so that it was not obscuring her view. When her face was fully revealed, Sakura saw green eyes that looked condescendingly at her. "The most important rule of surviving," she began in a voice similar to Sakura's; albeit stronger with a gentle edge to it "is to never take your eyes off of your enemy." Suddenly Sakura was very aware of her surroundings as she realized that the morphed Karin had disappeared without a trace. Next thing she knew, the morphed Karin burst out of the ground underneath Sakura, delivering a painful upper-cut to Sakura's jaw and sent her flying.

"**Rookie mistake**." The morphed Karin sneered at Sakura as she lay in a daze. Sauntering up to Sakura that was laying on the ground, she picked her up by the scruff of her neck and held her above herself and began to yell at Sakura. "**Is that **_**all**_** you've got? Surely this has to be some kind of a mistake! A joke! Surely the heavens jest that I am to be stuck with this queen! Surely the queen, my queen, of this asylum is not as weak and frail as this! This cannot be so! I refuse to be under such a **_**weakling**_**.**" Her grip on Sakura's neck tightened and Sakura began to cough and struggle against her. She was losing consciousness, and it wasn't only that. She felt as if dying here would be the complete end of her. _Perhaps, this is the soul that is often fantasized about in those stories. Or perhaps this is me and my alternate personalities. _Sakura took a good look at the person who was aspiring to kill her. _Have I offended her? I have not wronged Karin, yet she has wronged me! What have I done to her? _Sakura's eyes darted to the woman who wore the face-concealing hat. She looked into her eyes.

_What are you doing? _They seemed to say.

_Are you as weak as people say you are? _They doubted her credibility as a strong girl.

_Why don't you get up and fight? Why must you allow yourself to be pushed around all the time? _It was a question she asked herself on nights alone in her bed, wondering if Sasuke really loved her, and if her broken relationship with Ino was really the one of the worst things she could have done to herself and another person. Questions of the same nature and that were much in number that could be simplified into just one; her inability to act in retaliation against to those who oppose her in such a way as to leave her scarred and empty. She coughed again and her eyes were drooping. She was losing consciousness, and she was losing it quickly. Her eyes looked down to this morphed Karin and watched as she stared right back up at her in anger and amusement.

"Rise! Pick yourself up and fight!" The woman on the balcony commanded. The morphed Karin whipped her head over to the woman and spat. "**Don't interfere and do not encourage her! You had your play time with her, now it's my turn!**" The morphed Karin raised her middle finger to point directly at the woman in the balcony. A ball of energy was gathering at the pad of her finger, and for a moment Sakura was scared that that woman, who at the present time was her saving grace, would be lost forever. She began to struggle in her captor's grip until she just took a well-aimed kick at her chin, which sent her stumbling back and canceling the energy attack she was about to annihilate the woman with.

"Rookie mistake." Sakura repeated again in a mocking tone. "The most important rule of surviving;" Sakura pulled out gloves from one of her pockets and slipped them on. She flexed her fingers and dropped down to a familiar fighting stance, as if she'd done this all her life. It was strange, yet comforting. _I guess I'm running on instincts now_. The woman on the balcony looked on with a ghost of a smile. Sakura charged at the morphed Karin while she was in a daze "is to _never take your eyes off of your enemy_." The morphed Karin spat blood and was too late to defend herself as she suddenly came face-to-face with Sakura. She smirked at the morphed Karin and delivered an energy-charged upper cut to her chin and watched as she flew upwards near the ceiling and then fell back down like a rag doll. Sakura channeled more of this strange energy to her fist when all off a sudden the whole arena shook with a great force. She looked nervously to the woman in the stands who began to frown disapprovingly. Before she knew it the arena floor began to crumble quickly, and when she looked down the pieces seemed to fall into a sea of black nothingness. Sakura made to move but she could not act fast enough as she too was falling into the dark abyss. She reached out as if to grab the woman, but the woman had already disappeared. Sakura felt herself falling and shut her eyes forcefully, hoping that by some miracle she would be saved.

"You are running out of time." She opened her eyes again as she heard a voice speaking from her right. "This world will collapse unless you do something about it." Sakura looked to her right and saw the same woman from before, except her hat kanji read "flower".

"Who…who are you?" Sakura said as she reached out to grasp the mysterious woman. Upon contact the woman burst into millions of little cherry-blossoms. Out of all of the fleeting flowers she managed to grab a small one and clutched it close to herself. The darkness began to turn to a light blue as she fell through a liquid surface and floated to a meadow at the bottom of this seemingly large body of a certain liquid substance. She figured it was water, and she also found that, like before, she could breathe under this water. When she landed on her back in this meadow, she felt at ease, yet she also felt a rising deep disturbance within herself and her surroundings. Looking to her left, she saw an endless sea of cherry-blossoms. To her right, she only saw the same thing for hundreds of miles away.

"Do not tell me you have forgotten my name, blossom." Sakura sat up rapidly. "Hey!" she called. "This place…I can feel it disappearing! What do I do?" Sakura shouted in desperation.

"The answer" the woman said cryptically "lies within your hands." Sakura opened both palms and found a small half black half white blossom resting in the palm of her hands. She stood up and frantically looked around at the sea of cherry-blossoms. "Black and white should stand out, but dear Kami how am I ever going to find them in this sea of cherry-blossoms? It's as if my name sake has come back to bite me like it always does." She looked back down at the flower in her palm and glared at it. "You troublesome little-" she paused her tirade. "If this is a dream, then there must be some kind of a pattern—or something that stands out…something that each character has in common…something repeated…" she got right down to thinking and racked her brain with possible solutions. "Well there were the eyes…and the…the…" Sakura scratched her head. "Wow my head is itchy-wait! Head! Yes, of course! That scene with a younger Ino and myself, the flower in the hair, that lady with the hat whose kanji was always changing into something that had some relevance to my life, Karin who morphed into an almost carbon-copy of myself, and then the proctor and everyone else had this kind of head band on their heads with this weird engraving that looked like a leaf. Now, all I need to do is to figure out where this flower fits in all of this." She eyed the flower thoughtfully. "Maybe…it goes on my head?" She placed the black and white flower in her hair, and suddenly she could see where her targets were located; one white flower and one black flower. They were just a few feet ahead of her and she walked towards them.

"Congratulations. Now blossom, listen carefully;" The woman said as Sakura began to pull the white flower out of the ground. "What do you hear?" Sakura began to hear the voices of the many people in her life. _Equality! Balance! Justice! _They all seemed to say. "They all seem to shout for some kind of balance…"

_For every good deed in the world, there is something evil made. Whether we like it or not, wherever there is peace or at least a false sense of it, take that as a sign that something sinister is brewing. It is better to know of both the good and bad so you are not taken by surprise in the long run._

The ground beneath her feet began to shake and rumble. In the distance, the land was crumbling into nothingness. She hesitated with her tugging and used her other hand to pull the black flower out as well. As they were pulled from the ground, swords of different energies came up out of the ground with it. The sword that was attached to the black flower emitted a white energy, whereas the sword that was attached to the white sword emitted a dark energy.

"Wield the zanpakuto! Take it, and charge forward!" Sakura still could not find the woman but nodded in response. She licked her lips and grabbed the hilts of both swords.

* * *

><p>01.89999<p>

Unconvincing explanations of the situations that prove to be quite troublesome aberrations that produce uncomfortable manifestations of tumultuous emotions inside oneself

"The hollowfication is almost complete."

Sakura's muffled shouts echoed out into the dark sky as her face was nearly covered by what appeared to be a mask. In an instant the rushing ceased and she fell forward on her face. All who spectated were silent. There was a sudden burst of energy that came from her as she rose up again. Everyone was prepared to attack if they had to. She looked into the eyes of her fake self, and then with a speed not even Ichigo could detect, grabbed her and threw her into the sky.

Sakura crouched then burst into the air after the Fake Sakura with determination. She was not herself, she mused because she would not have even considered it humanly possible to possess such speed and flexibility. Once she caught up with her faux self, she unleashed a series of punches and kicks that the other Sakura could not parry, let alone dodge. Sakura grabbed a chunk of the faux Sakura's hair, pulled her arm back, and punched her to the ground. She flew towards the ground with speed and landed with a sickening crack, while an unrelenting masked Sakura followed closely behind. While the imposter was down, she repeatedly punched energy-charged punches at the fake Sakura, and by then everyone was sure that the imposter was dead. She stood up from the ground, only to see that the fake was not, in fact, half-dead or even in the hole to begin with. She whipped her head towards the opening in front of Urahara's shop that leads into the streets. She made a move to go after her but stopped suddenly. Golden irises on black eyes glared at Ichigo and the others as she walked slowly towards them. Ichigo and the others were poised to attack, yet Urahara looked at her with a hint of glee in his eyes.

"What's so funn-" Sakura didn't finish that thought as she began to struggle with herself. "S-sto-stop! Y-you do not control m-me!" She gritted out. She lifted her hand to the side of her mask, and with great effort she pulled it off and it broke into pieces. The other-worldly tint in her eyes began to recede, and Urahara walked up to her and patted her on the back.

"Welcome to the club!" He cheerfully said. Sakura grumbled to herself.

"Yeah, sure whatever."

* * *

><p><em>Ringringringring<em>. _Click._

"Yeah, this is he. What do you want dobe?"

A feminine body lying in bed next to him adjusted herself to look at the person who she was currently sharing the bed with. "What about Sakura? She's _gone_?"

"Sasuke-kun-"

"Shut the hell up. Can't you see I'm busy?" Sasuke spat at the woman. He returned to his phone conversation with Naruto.

"You stupid idiot! I thought you were like her care taker or something; how could you just let her leave like that? What if she gets hurt?"

There was more shouting on the other line.

"Okay maybe not caretaker, but still? And you say your parents won't let you out of the house? Fine, fine. I'll be there in a bit." He clicked a button on his phone to end the call and got up out of bed. He dressed himself in a white T-shirt and black skinny jeans with some black shoes and walked out side of his door to the door in front of his room. He burst into the room.

"Hey Itachi wake up! Sakura's gone missing. We have to go help the dobe look for her." At this Itachi shot up immediately and was getting dressed.

"Foolish little brother, would it have killed you to knock on the door for once in your life?" Itachi asked teasingly as he was getting dressed.

"Yes, it would have." Sasuke replied with haughtiness.

"How could Sakura have gone missing anyways? I thought you two were dating?"

Sasuke looked away from his brother and didn't answer. Suddenly, a pair of manicured hands grabbed onto Sasuke's shoulder and shook him. "Sasuke-kun! I thought you were leaving! You hurt my feelings back then, but that's okay! I'll forgive you." Sasuke shook in anger and embarrassment as he tried to pry the woman off of him. Itachi shook his head.

"_Foolish little brother_." He repeated.

* * *

><p>haha, and that is the new chapter! thank you again for the reviews :)<p>

and I haven't much to say this time around. I tried with the action scenes (I really did) but they didn't turn out the way I expected them too. Boo.

Anyways, thanks again my readers! :)


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